A 300-unit apartment complex at the corner of Main Street and Del Amo Boulevard in Carson called Evolve South Bay on Wednesday held a ceremonial groundbreaking to mark the start of construction. (Artist’s rendition courtesy of developer MBK Rental Living).

Carson ceremonially broke ground Wednesday, July 10, on Evolve South Bay, a massive apartment complex that’s part of a larger redevelopment effort city leaders hope will help transform the blue-collar city into an enticing residential community.

The three-story, 300-unit complex will rise up from a dusty vacant lot and boast one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments at the corner of Main Street and Del Amo Boulevard. It will be the first residential component of a planned 300-acre mixed-use development dubbed The Boulevards at South Bay.

Across Del Amo Boulevard and fronting the 405 Freeway, site preparation work is underway for what’s called the Los Angeles Premium Outlets, which will eventually consist of 465,000 square feet of retail space. Phase one is set to open in the fall of 2021.

Carson Mayor Al Robles described Evolve South Bay and the associated developments as a “means to an end” for a community that’s 50% industrial and needs to increase the residential population to improve its quality of life.

“Carson residents for a long time,” Robles said, “have been starving for amenities in terms of better restaurants, more grocery stores, more retail establishments.

“The complaint we get from developers,” he added, “is that Carson doesn’t have the required (residential) density to justify these kind of developments.”

It’s a marked philosophical difference from many coastal South Bay cities, such as neighboring Torrance — which already has the variety of retail and restaurant options Carson lacks — where politically influential homeowners associations have largely had success in lobbying to keep high-density housing at bay.

Coincidentally, for example, a rally is set for 4:30 p.m. Thursday, June 11, at the corner of Hawthorne Boulevard and Via Valmonte, in Torrance, with local residents protesting a proposed 248-unit apartment complex beneath Butcher Hill.

Even Long Beach, its more urbanized neighbor to the east, has grappled with the challenges of adding more housing. After years of heated density debates, the City Council approved a new Land Use Element last March.

Proposed density increases in Long Beach’s LUE, a blueprint intended to guide the construction of more than 28,000 new housing units by 2040, led to community outcry. The final approved document, with its lower building heights and reduced uses, reflected the compromises officials felt they had to make.

“Just this year alone we have close to 1,000 units that are presently under construction and we have another 3,500 units in the planning process,” he said. “On a per capita basis, I submit to you that there is no other city, no other community, that is doing more to address our housing crisis than the city of Carson.”

Officials said they hope Evolve South Bay and the rest of the development will help Carson, as the name suggests, evolve into a walkable community.

A walking and jogging path will encircle the 11.8-acre apartment complex, which will also include a fitness center, a “resort-style” pool and spa, a barbecue area, outdoor fitness equipment and a dog park.

Craig Jones — president of MBK Rental Living, Evolve South Bay’s developer — said freeway-close Carson, centrally located between Orange County and Los Angeles city, will be an attractive option for many Southern Californians.

“It checks all the boxes of a place that will be desirable for people to live,” he said. “Vacancy rates are below 5% throughout the state and in Carson and the South Bay. Adding much needed housing to the community helps solve that problem.”

Pre-leasing is expected to begin early next year.

Sign up for The Localist, our daily email newsletter with handpicked stories relevant to where you live. Subscribe here.

Veteran journalist Nick Green is the beat reporter for the cities of Torrance, Carson and Lomita and also covers the South Bay's rapidly growing craft beer industry for the Daily Breeze. He has worked for newspapers on the West Coast since graduating in 1987 from the University of Washington and lives in Old Torrance with his wife and two cats. Follow him on Twitter @NickGreen007 and @BeerGogglesLA.

Join the Conversation

We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. Although we do not pre-screen comments, we reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions.

If you see comments that you find offensive, please use the “Flag as Inappropriate” feature by hovering over the right side of the post, and pulling down on the arrow that appears. Or, contact our editors by emailing moderator@scng.com.